Their Moment
by Siriusly Black Hearted
Summary: Imagine seeing all the wonders of the universe but never finding that one moment that is meant for you alone- a moment you can keep all for your own, or maybe...share with a petite blonde that you've got a certain hankering for. Rose Tyler/Ninth Doctor one shot. First Doctor Who work.


He wasn't even aware that he had said something to make her tick. They had stopped for food; Rose was a useless cook, a trait she attributed to her mother; and despite having been taught in Paris, the Doctor hardly felt like cooking or dancing or anything domestic anymore. This man, his man, did not like domestics. So, both hungry and time worn, they agreed to pop off to Earth.

"You know, I can do plenty of things you can't." She shouted across the field. It must have been the teasing about the cooking that agitated her, as there wasn't anything else. Her hands sat on her hips, but her thumbs were hooped into the back pockets of her jeans. She was biting her lip through, like she often did and it illuminated the truth. She was challenged, or at least, she felt she was. She looked wary, like something really was going to attack her. Maybe she was just bracing before the words came. Harsh words, said with a little bark but no bite. That's what she was used to, especially when they got into a little tiff. The Doctor wasn't unnecessarily cruel but he could be quite snappish. She was ready; she was prepared in that sort of primal way humans tended to be. That's what she was, after all.

"Who says y'can't? Just, the things I can do that YOU can't, are awesome. Not in the 21th century definition, mind you. 'Awesome' being used as a synonym for 'amazing'…there are demi-gods in this universe that have destroyed planets just to be called awesome and here y'go, welcome to Earth! It's used liberally by all and for all of humanity- all of you stupid apes; it's an insult, that's what it is." The wind blew fiercely.

But her hands were still in her pockets. Here was a trait that wasn't unfamiliar to him. Almost every species in the universe felt it at some point or other, but it was most evident with humanity. It wasn't unique in any way, but that's what made it beautiful. That bit of humility. Everyone could connect and everyone could feel that bit of humility. Even he did, but he had no one to share that with, at least not in the same way. Humans could all be linked to that little bit of doubt that was born inside of them. But he was alone now and not one of them.

"All of us?" She asked. He stopped walking for a moment, dropping his hands to the side, stepping closer to her. He didn't want to hurt her; he wanted to keep her safe.

"Not you. You know that, do I hafta keep telling you?"

"When you keep insulting me, it does kind of make it hard to keep track." He felt solemn. He knew that she was only giving him a hard time, but he also knew that she was offended in some way. Rose wasn't the type to hide her feelings, not when it came to matters like that. She was like her mother in that way, without the roughness and hurt. Though Jackie Tyler was not his favorite person in this universe, the Doctor did sympathize with her. She was flighty and gabby and obnoxious but she did love her daughter more than he was used to seeing, and that's saying something. He took from Jackie all she had left. But Rose…Rose was all he had, too. And all the company he ever really wanted. He would be content to go everywhere with her, a bit selfishly if he was totally honest. But Rose always wanted to share with people, give people what he gave her- this new freedom. And he found that he had no interest in any other humans, at least nothing that rivaled his interest in her.

"Rose Tyler, I only travel with the best. You're not _really_ a 'human' like the rest of them…" In a twisted way, that was the closest thing to a compliment Rose was going to get. Still, he felt room to add more of the truth, "but that is what I like the best about you."

"What's that, then?" He didn't speak in circles, more like directions. Every which way, saying a thousand things yet nothing that made sense entirely, all those words so shot out and direct…but there were so many things at once something was still lost in each statement. Sometimes it drove her mad, others it was oddly reassuring. Right now, it felt like the later and a small smile broke through her lips and he started to crack as well.

"You're human! You're so human, so fantastically small yet so big. You lot go everywhere and you thrive everywhere. You've got this capacity to adapt to everything in the universe. You're so likeable."

"How comes everyone is always trying to kill us, then?" She asked, her tongue clicking against her bottom row of teeth.

"Well, sometimes creatures like something so much they get jealous. Possessive. They want to own you. But that's not the way the universe works. When you like something, sometimes you hafta let it stay the way it's meant to be, don't interfere, and certainly don't try to take it for your own. I like the universe, but it's not meant for me to own. And I like…I've learned, Rose…Well." He didn't feel like finishing the thought. It wasn't really the right moment. The Doctor…he knew moments. He had seen so many of them from far away, and this most certainly did not feel like one to him. Or he wasn't going to make it one. He chose not to interfere. He could see moments, great moments in history and in time, but he didn't let himself have those moments; those things that really mattered, watching all those creatures gather and celebrate or achieve. He didn't have much of a hand in all of that. He had seen monuments and skyscrapers go up, watched games and wars be won, heard the Beatles at their prime and even listened to Martin Luther King Jr. once, but he didn't build anything. He never said anything that could motivate so many to do so much. He only destroyed and that was the dark truth of the Doctor- he was a destroyer of moments, not a creator… "Oi, hang on, forgot the psychic paper in my other jumper. Stay put." He turned away to avoid saying much of anything else.

He left her alone. She was still biting her lip but released it slowly, with a sigh.

The field still roared around her, bits of grass biting at her ankles. 'You can go anywhere in the universe,' she thought, 'but there's still no place like this one…' She looked down at her feet- they were in sandals, it was warm- she had shrugged off her pink sweatshirt and wore only a black, sleeveless top and a pair of thinner, loose pants. After all the places she had been, she really felt like she was one with mother nature, this place, this atmosphere…She knew it like it knew her. She glanced back up towards the TARDIS, but the Doctor still hadn't poked his head out. She wouldn't have been able to make out his face, but she probably would have seen his ears. She turned her back to the TARDIS and lifted her arms above her head, enjoying the sunlight and the air running through her hair. That's when it came to her- that moment, right there, that moment which she could never have back or relive again. The TARDIS and her Doctor could do so many beautiful things, but it could never take her back to who she was, what she was, right then and there. That was gone and lost to anyone and everyone but her. That was hers. In this whole universe, she still possessed her own moments.

But that's when it came to her. What she could do that he couldn't. A human smile crossed her face. It was a bit cheeky and so lovely. She didn't know how lovely it was, because that's something that he definitely couldn't do…smile like her. She stretched out her fingers and looked over the palms of her hands, wiggling them as she went. 'Bronze.' She thought. If you asked Rose, what would she change about the bloke she was traveling with, she would say one thing: she'd have him not always think he was so alone. She would have him not feel so miserable. She would interfere. She would help him if she could, take him and show him that the wonders of the universe- all that beauty and happiness- could be found right inside him because that's what he had done for her. The Doctor was the most amazing man in the universe but all that darkness weighed him down. Rose was the type to change people, or at least she wanted to. Mickey, he was so lost without his mum, and his grandma dying and his dad disappearing…he had no one, he was down a dead end and Rose thought briefly she could help him out of the hole he was in. But Mickey, he didn't want to change. The Doctor wasn't her boyfriend but she knew that he wanted to change. He wanted to be happy. When he did find some amount of joy, he relished it. 'Like a candy bought with your last dollar before you knew you could get another, like a kid.' She was close enough to being one. So said her mum. And so said he, with nearly 900 years or so difference between them in age. She could be a kid again. Once she was an under-seven champion. And now she was going to be a champion again. His champion.

Rose Tyler kicked off her sandals and ran forward a little; she took that momentum and brought herself down, her legs coming up behind her and tried to stick it. She came tumbling down. She pulled herself up and automatically looked back at the TARDIS. There was no laugher- she imagined she heard it, his weird little laughter, but it wasn't there. Okay. Running into it wasn't a good start. Think about it, Rose. Remember what you learned. Find the form first, find it again. Take a deep breath, bend down. She managed to propel herself upright now but she moved a little and felt herself falter. Lock your elbows. Keep it straight. She succeeded in getting the right grounding and she kept herself there, suspended in the air. She was proud of herself for this small, human feat.

"What're you doing?!" There it was. It was there now, in his voice. Laughter.

"Something I bet you can't!"

"I didn't know humans walked on their hands." He snickered now.

"Little human trick. I learned it when I was a gymnast." The wind was still quite strong. It almost tickled her feet now that they were in the air. She wriggled her toes but found that was causing her to shift slightly and stopped. "Takes a long time to learn this, Doctor. I don't think you could manage it."

"Well, I've been around a lot longer than you! I'm sure I can do it!"

"Get over here then, come on." She could hear him walking, the dirt grinding into the soles of his shoes. He was right behind her now, but that's where he stopped. The wind raced across her back. Her shirt came down a bit, her stomach peaking through.

"I'm doing it right now." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, come here, in front of me, do it proper so I can see." He moved in front of her but it was distinctively his feet, black-booted and dirty now from being outside. He didn't say or do anything for a moment, and she couldn't move her head anymore to see his face, less she wanted to take a topple over. Her arms were starting to get sore. It had only been about thirty seconds but it was thirty seconds more than he had done, or so she guessed, and she smiled at the thought that she was beating him but also that she was challenging him to be something he wasn't. She wanted him to be something he deserved to be.

"What is THAT?" he asked, aghast. She nearly fell at the words, but she thought to herself that he could be messing with her, trying to get her to startle and fall. Teasing her. That was good.

"I don't know, can't see, Doctor. What's it look like?"

"That THING, on your stomach. It's a hole, but there's something coming out of it! God that's…disgusting!" He did sound quite bemused, but also amused.

"…My belly button? What, you're telling me your type doesn't have a belly button?!"

"Didn't say that but-" Suddenly his face was in her view. Their eyes connected for a moment but his popped out of sight again when he presumably fell over. "But, that's not a belly button. Not what they look like at all." There they were again. Blue and stormy and locked onto hers. He winked at her. "This human stuff, it's easy."

"Says you, git. I've been here for what…nearly a minute now."

"Yeah, you're starting to get a bit wobbly." She glanced at her arms. They were still locked.

"…No, Doctor, I think that's all you."

"Is it? Oh…" He came down forwards this time, which was bad or maybe good for Rose, because he knocked into her, setting her off balance and taking her down with him. They landed sort of side by side, with a few tangled limbs, notably their feet and she thought maybe part of his arm was under her back because moments before it was cool but now it felt a bit hot. She laid there for a couple seconds, feeling the blood rush through her arms and when she tried to pick one up it felt a bit like jelly and rather useless. She was still smiling though. She hadn't felt him move either.

"Alright then though, no changing the conversation. Show me."

"Show you what?"

"Your belly button. Let's have a look."

"Rose, we're not going to have a gander at my belly button. There are parts of this body I still haven't seen or explored!"

"I don't want to fathom how that makes sense."

"Right you are, then!"

"Don't be a prude, it's just a little tum. Well, in your case, bit more than little-"

"Oi! Not my fault someone always has a hankering for chips. You should eat more bananas. They're much healthier than chips, and beans on toast and all that rubbish."

"Here." She lifted her shirt a little bit again, with a smirk. "Look. It's not the end of the world, it's just a little bit of skin. It's supposed to be a scar, or something. Mine comes out. A lot of people's goes in."

"See? There, Rose Tyler. I knew you were special!" He reached over with his hand out and Rose was actually surprised by his actions for a moment; he was grinning from ear to ear, and that was definitely wide, and it was the most pleasing thing she had seen in the universe.

"…Are you going to poke me!?"

"It's just so fascinating…Something sticking out of your belly button…"

"Poke me and I'm going to give you a smack!" His hand hadn't touched her, but he was a lot closer now. His arm. She was definitely lying in his arm. On his arm, right, not in them, that'd be ridiculous. She turned her head towards his and found that he was looking at her, too. Neither of them said anything then. It really was amazing. He really seemed to light up, not just relax but shine out there in the field, on planet Earth. Like he, the weary and bitter wanderer, had found a sort of home. Like visiting parents on Thanksgiving. There's comfort in having a home even if all of time wasn't spent there.

It was nice knowing there was somewhere to go, and though the Doctor would never want to get involved in all those domestics of human life, in a field where the Earth is just so lovely being a planet and Rose was there, he forget just for a couple of minutes of what he had lost. He was a different man. Rose saw how lonely he could get. Sometimes when he didn't think she could see him he'd look worse than usual; it wasn't just his smile that sank but also his eyes, and that was the worst to her; to see that he felt so defeated and alone... There were just some things that she could not heal for him, and to travel with him she had to accept that. But it was hard, definitely harder than she let on, not to feel like she did about him. That he was lost. But she had done it now, just for a couple of seconds. He was undeniably and truly happy there. Together, they shared the most beautiful thing they could ever offer each other- a moment.

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For everything. I just wanted to say that, you know…" She trailed off, but suddenly the Doctor had reached over her with his other hand to find the one she had resting on her stomach and leaned himself up on his side, his cheeks settling down now as the smile faded, but the contentment was still there in his startlingly blue eyes.

"Rose Tyler…If you ever want to know; if you ever want to know anything about me- or anything about you and how wonderful you are- remember this- I came back for you." There he went again. It took her a second to follow in the same direction. She heard the words now, remembered that one lost moment where she had said no to him. And then, her utter happiness when he came back and asked her again and she ran away, madly and fearlessly ran with the Doctor, just like he told her to. Those first words, his hand slipped into hers and he just said told her to run…"And, you know what else, Rose?" he asked. She remembered to blink now. But she liked the way his eyes were today. They were bright and full of life and for some reason she felt cautious, as if maybe this was her last chance to look into them like this...

"What?"

"I think today is going to be fantastic." He let go of her and, deciding that it would be a good time to do so, Rose rolled off his arm; he stood up before her, reaching out to help her up. She took it but as they walked she realized, neither one let go this time. They were each other's life line. Together they could do things that others couldn't do. What she lacked, her Doctor made up and vice versa. And that's what was important. Because he could do so much that she couldn't; but Rose Tyler, well. She had an outtie belly button, she could do a handstand for about a minute, she could travel with the Doctor. He could never, ever smile like her. And he couldn't love like her. He liked her so much that he couldn't change her, not like that. He couldn't own her, or possess her. He just had to be indifferent and watch her- her and the universe. But now, if he looked back on it again, if anything ever happened and they were separated he could always remember that one time where they…where he was an active participant in a moment that was truthfully, entirely beautiful. After everything that he had lost, having one thing to cling to, no matter how small and insignificant to the universe it might seem, was enough for this man. So he held her hand, vowing not to tell her or change her all without knowing how she was scheming to change and help him. "Now…I've got the psychic paper. Let's get some food and get back out there! So much to see, you've been here for nineteen years! Got to find something new, you know."

"Something new…sounds good. Can we get some chips?"

"Humans…Alright, yes, don't forget your sandals, c'mon, we'll get chips but this is the last time. I'm enforcing a no chips rule after this. Apparently you think I'm ruining my figure and getting pudgy. Can't have a chubby Doctor now, can we? Not when we always seem to be running around. We're not in England this time though. I'd say we were in France…France…right, Rose Tyler, we're going to keep walking, and I've got just the place to take you. Just the place;, hope we're in the right millennia though. Repeat after me- _pomme frites. Pomme frites…_"


End file.
